The Neverending Story was one of my favorite childhood movies. I loved the back and forth between Sebastian eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the attic of his school and young Atreyu on his white horse (well, not for long…Artax!) journeying to kill The Nothing. Mostly, though, I loved the idea of this dusty old book, discovered in a hidden-away book shop, that teleports our young hero to another world. I felt the same way, the other day, making a dessert from a cookbook I bought at Bonnie Slotnick’s in the West Village.

Ok, I was in San Francisco, staying with my friends Kristen & Felix, and I had a bit of a cold (another illness! Proof that I’m dying?) While coughing and sneezing in their guest bedroom, I was noodling around on the internet and found myself on E-Bay. And while on E-Bay (a site I rarely visit) I had the sudden idea to search for vintage menus. And a new addiction was born….

* The kind people at Children of Bellevue have awarded our 2nd place winner, Stephanie Krasinski, two $150 passes to the charity event for her scavenger hunt efforts. (Rachel, the 1st place winner, gets two $450 tickets. I don’t really understand the difference.) Now everyone’s happy!

* Bonnie Slotnick points out, in the comments, that the dog in the pictures is not hers: “He belongs to my friend Mike, and I was babysitting while Mike was away. Rollins LOVED hearing about all the food!”

* Finally, Ruth Reichl commented on Twitter: “No guys participated? I’m fairly stunned. What does that mean, I wonder. Any ideas?” Well, male readers, what say you? Why did you disappoint the editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine?!?

While I was in Austin, my camera battery overheated so I’m headed into the city today to get my camera fixed. Expect an Austin post tomorrow!

Popping into Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the West Village is a dangerous proposition: Bonnie is so likable and easy to talk to and the store is so charming and packed with fascinating vintage cookbooks, you can’t leave without buying something. In fact, I have a souvenir from every visit I’ve made to Bonnie’s: there’s Claudia Roden’s “Middle Eastern Food,” Craig Claiborne’s A Feast Made For Laughter, and–most recently–the calendar you see above.

Check out this week’s episode of The FN Dish (click here) in which we bring two of Alton Brown’s biggest fans to meet him at a book signing and then go to Chinatown with Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. In the comments you can enter to win a copy of either Alton’s or Jennifer’s books, so check out the rules beneath the video. And, eventually, you can read about my attempt at wok cooking here, once they put my post up. Also: we shot the video at Bonnie Slotnick’s Cookbook Store in the West Village. If you’re coming to New York and you love cookbooks, you have to make a trip there. Bonnie is the best.